Farmer leader Debashish Hota was released on bail by the Junior Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court of Bhuban in two cases lodged against him by the Dhenkanal administration while he was holding a fast demanding a hike in compensation to the victim farmers due to crop damage by elephants in the district in 2011.
Bhuban police on May 23, 2011 had lodged the cases against Hota while he was on the hunger strike for a long eight days. This apart, the Dhenkanal police had lodged as many as five cases against Hota during his agitation against land acquisition by a few companies by fraudulent means.
Hota’s hunger strike had borne results. The NHRC had taken cognisance of the case and directed the Government to take suitable action in the matter. Under pressure, the district administration had increased the compensation from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000.
Other leaders who were also released on bail with Hota include Niranjan Sahu, Surendra Prusty, Patitapaban Nayak, Basant Maharana, Prabhakar Poi, Arjun Naik, Dharani Pati, Rajkishore Pothal, Brajabandhu Behera, Kailash Chandra Biswal, Brajabandhu Rout, Damodar Patra, Utsab Malik, Anand Sahu, Sanatan Das, landa Sahu, Bhramarbar Rout, Gatikrushna Naik and Bankanidhi Rout.